We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
Be not discouraged. There is a future for you. . . . The resistance encountered now predicates hope. . . — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
A man, at times, gets something for nothing, but it will, in his hands, amount to nothing. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“The thought of only being a creature of the present and past was troubling. I longed for a future too, with hope… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“Mr. Johnson had just been reading the "Lady of the Lake," and at once suggested that my name be "Douglass." From that… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
There are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“just at that time, the slightest manifestation of humanity toward a colored person was denounced as abolitionism, and that name subjected its… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
...there are at the present moment many colored men in the Confederate Army...as real soldiers, having muskets on their shoulders, and bullets… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“From this time I was most narrowly watched. If I was in a separate room any considerable length of time, I was… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“If at any one time of my life more than another, I was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery, that… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“forms of religion, and at the same time neglect the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. They are always… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“I had at one time over forty scholars, and those of the right sort, ardently desiring to learn. They were of all… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“immediately commenced copying them, and in a short time was able to make the four letters named. After that, when I met… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“The hearth is desolate. The children, the unconscious children, who once sang and danced in her presence, are gone. She gropes her… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“But I should be false in the earliest sentiments of my soul, if I suppressed the opinion. I prefer to be true to myself,… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
A man who will enslave his own blood, may not be safely relied on for magnamity. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, - a justifier of the… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes—a justifier of the most appalling… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppose. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“We have all met a class of men, very remarkable for their activity, and who yet make but little headway in life; men who,… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
“The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as… — Frederick Douglass Copy Share Image
